Morning
by nejiandtentenfan
Summary: Some things in life are inevitable. To Sakura, it was low class status. To Tenten, it was dying. But one thing inevitable to everyone in life, whether it's to be dreaded or anticipated,  is morning. [SasuSaku] [NejiTen] [AU]
1. Happiness

**A/N:** This is for a story request from chinaji. It is a SasuSaku and NejiTen. Although chinaji requested for mainly SasuSaku and NejiTen as a side couple, I couldn't resist it, NejiTen is too dear to me, I had to make it half and half. This story is an AU...one of my first true AUs. I hope...you guys think it's at least ok since this is one of my first AUs...:D

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and am not making any profit from this fanfic.

**Morning**

by nejiandtentenfan

Chapter 1: Happiness

The pink haired student sighed, _am I supposed to reject or accept this invitation? _

Haruno Sakura, a pink-haired excellent student, had received an invitation from her so-called best friend (Yamanaka Ino) for her 16th birthday party. As much as Sakura wanted to go, there was one _small_ problem that held her back…it was at the local bar.

Sakura bit her lower lip, _I have to stop being such a goody goody like I'm known for at school and act cool, I HAVE to go to her party. _

Yes, it was true, she was known for getting top grades in her school and being a virgin, like so many of her friends weren't – including Ino, who had claimed to have done it with Shikamaru AND Kiba. Sakura would never dream of doing something like that, not at this age, she just was too pure, she had never inhaled a breath of smoke directly from a cigarette and never tasted the pleasurable bitterness of alcohol. The pink-haired girl had to admit…she was actually _jealous _of Ino – the blonde was attractive and wanted by many guys, Ino was a "bad girl" and didn't care, Ino was born into a rich family so she could literally shop 'till she dropped.

Sakura sighed thinking of her own average stats compared to Ino's superior stats, even though she knew she shouldn't be jealous of her best friend.

Sakura was very different than Ino. Sakura was born into a family with not a lot of money, she wasn't dirt poor, but the income her family made was below average, explaining why she had to study so hard to get into a good university and get a good job. Also due to the lack of money her family provided, she didn't go shopping much – since they wore uniforms to school, she only bought a few plain shirts and pants for special occasions outside of school.

Sakura briefly glanced in the medium sized mirror in her bedroom attached to the wall facing her and she thought of how ugly she must've looked always walking next to a supermodel like Ino.

The feature that the Haruno girl most hated about herself was her huge forehead, thanks to her mom's side of the family. Why couldn't she have a normal forehead like Ino? Furthermore, why couldn't she just be like Ino altogether – attractive, popular, and rich?

She flopped back onto her bouncy white bed with deep red sheets before she heard the phone ring. At first she didn't react, thinking she would let her parents get it. After 4 more annoying rings, the girl bolted upright and felt like slapping her oversized forehead, _duh, Mom and Dad both have to work today!_ This had slipped her mind because it wasn't too often that both her parents had to work for a full day (even though it didn't make a difference in how much they got paid.) Her parents had odd job schedules that always fluctuated so she didn't know for sure when her parents would be home or when they wouldn't be home.

She sprinted down the steps and made it into the kitchen just in time to pick the phone up before the caller hung up.

"Hello?" Sakura caught her breath.

"Did you just come back from a job?" came Ino's familiar voice.

A flush of pink crossed Sakura's cheeks, "Um…something like that…"

"Oh, are you trying to lost weight or something to look good for my party tonight?" Ino questioned, joking a bit.

Sakura laughed nervously, "Oh your party…lose weight…good one…"

Ino ignored her awkwardness and continued, "Which brings me to my point of calling…you haven't told me whether you're coming or not…"

Sakura bit her lower lip again, "I uh…"

Ino cut her off, "I don't even know why I'm asking. Of course my _best friend _will be there! It's my sweet sixteen after all! You only turn 16 once a lifetime you know!"

Another nervous laugh came from Sakura, "Of course…since we're best friends…I'll be there…"

Ino squealed loudly through the phone, "Oooh goody! It'll be so much fun! There'll be music, talking, contests and there's even gonna be some…"

Sakura cut the birthday girl off, "I-Ino…I have a question…"

There was a pause, "Yes? You know you can ask me anything."

Sakura hesitantly asked, "Are there going to be any non-alcoholic beverages?"

Another pause. Ino laughed, "Oh I forgot! My best friend has never had alcohol! Umm uh…of course! I heard they have some strawberry lemonade at the bar!"

Sakura smiled, relieved of a lot of worries, "That's good…"

"Mmhm. Well, see you there!" Ino's high-pitched voice came again.

Before Sakura got a chance to respond, Ino hung up.

Sakura put the phone back in the receiver and looked at the clock hanging on her kitchen wall. Her party would start in just 3 hours. That was the amount of time she had to prepare.

Sakura knew very well that it was a "semi-formal" party, which meant EVERYONE was going to be dressed in classy clothing and looking sharp. Ino's parties were always a big hit and everybody who was anybody went. If you didn't, you'd be mocked at in school for the rest of the year. Ino's parties were almost like a school prom, most guys and girls went in couples. But Sakura never went to Ino's party with a guy, she'd never had a single boyfriend, while Ino would have a different boyfriend to celebrate with every year. Last year it had been Shikamaru. This year she had said it was someone named Sasuke.

She had never heard of him. There were 7 class periods in a day of school and she didn't recall a guy named Sasuke in any of her classes. Ino described him like every other guy she had dated. 'He's absolutely amazing!' and 'His personality is such a turn-on!' Sakura suspected that by next year, Ino would grow tired of her new toy and find a better one. And eventually tire of that one and the cycle would just continue for several years until she finally found the one she wanted to marry for life. Or would Ino ever get married? Or would she just keep playing her little dating game all her life? Sakura didn't want to imagine.

Sakura walked up to the bathroom to grimace at her short ugly hair. She wished she had long luscious hair like Ino's. She couldn't do anything with her own. After much experimenting and fumbling with her hair, she decided to just leave it down.

Much to Sakura's horror, she had forgotten to ask her parents to buy her a dress for the party. Or had she forgotten? Had she purposely not asked her parents to buy that expensive dress? She always felt guilty asking her parents to buy something she didn't need for her because she knew the answer would always be 'yes.' Her parents were some of the most generous people on the face of the earth. They loved their precious daughter more than their lives and couldn't refuse her in fear of hurting her.

Sakura dug in her closet for something decent to wear to the party. She found a knee length jean skirt, a faded plain yellow tank top and a plain white blouse with elbow length sleeves that folded back to give her a crisp look. She fixed to collar of the blouse and unbuttoned a few of the top buttons of the blouse, revealing the top half of her yellow top underneath, but concealing the bottom half of her yellow top behind the white of her blouse that hugged her figure. She found those plain peach-colored flat shoes that she had worn to Ino's party last year. In fact, she had worn this same outfit last year too, it was the only thing "semi-formal" she had and she would wear it, as dorky as it made her look compared to the other girls in elegant gowns and dresses and even some beautiful expensive kimonos.

Sakura looked in her medium sized mirror again, looking at her outfit from all sides of her body. She sighed, she looked like she was going to a job interview. But nonetheless, she looked clean. She had to look at the positives, at least she wasn't going in sweats. If only she had enough money to buy a bit of jewelry. But that's when she remembered that necklace she only wore on special occasions.

She walked over to the small wooden box on her desk that contained one of her most prized possessions. She removed the lid of the box and took out the beautiful necklace her mother had given to her a few years ago. She apologized to Sakura for not having enough money to ever buy her some proper accessories and had bought a silver chain. She had attached her own plain silver engagement ring in the middle of the necklace. Sakura had kept it near and dear to her heart for all of her mother's thoughtfulness. Sakura carefully hooked it properly behind her neck and let it dangle in front of her. She examined herself once more in the mirror, even smiling a bit. _Not bad…_thought Sakura happily.

---

Of course, Sakura's brief moment of happiness of feeling just the slightest bit pretty was crushed once she reached the bar that was a 20-minute-walk away from her house. Ino greeted Sakura at the entrance of the bar with a squeal and a hug, "Sakura, you made it!"

Sakura could not help but gape at Ino's beautiful outfit this year. The Yamanaka had a different outfit every year, but this year's was absolutely gorgeous. Ino's hair was expertly tied beautifully into an elegant bun, a few strands purposefully coming out of the bun to give it a natural look (no doubt her hair was done by one of her private hair stylists). Ino's golden side bangs fell to one side of her forehead, giving her face a certain edge to it. Ino's make up looked expertly applied. She was wearing a mid-thigh length baby blue tube dress. Sakura recalled passing the dress shop on the way home from school one day, she remembered looking in the window where that particular dress was displayed. Her eyes widened at it's beauty and wished she possessed something like it, but it was 118,000 yen. She laughed at herself that day, _heh, keep dreaming Sakura. _Ino also wore expensive silver heels, and to top it all off, she was covered with elegant sliver jewelry, definitely beating her puny silver necklace.

At this point in time, Sakura didn't even remember how she could've ever been even the slightest bit happy with how she looked.

Ino noticed the pink haired girl staring at her and smiled in a gloating way, "You like my outfit? Daddy bought it for me. I told him not to spend too much money on me but he never listens! That man!"

Sakura laughed uncomfortably again. Ino's dad always drained his money on her and she always bragged about it. But she could never dream of blaming her parents for not having enough money. They worked extremely hard just to raise her and blaming them for anything would be betrayal.

Sakura impassively gave Ino her small, neatly wrapped present she had bought a few weeks ago, finally obtaining enough money. She had bought an elegant silver bracelet that cost her 30,000 yen.

Ino took it and squinted at the plain pink wrapping paper, "Your presents seem to be getting smaller and smaller each year…"

Sakura didn't know how to respond to this comment…was it true? She couldn't remember.

Seeing Sakura's uneasiness, Ino quickly said, "Relax! I was just kidding! I can't wait to open your present!"

Sakura smiled a bit before Ino spoke up again.

"Oh! There's someone I'd like you to meet!" Ino dragged her friend into the bar.

Just a few feet inside the bar entrance was a slender man in a tuxedo with onyx hair. His back was facing the girls.

Ino cleared her throat loudly, "Sasuke-kun! There's someone I must introduce you to!"

Sasuke turned around and Sakura's jaw almost dropped at how handsome Ino's boyfriend was. His face came together in a way that made you swoon when you looked at it. She couldn't describe how much she'd kill to have a boyfriend like him. She shook the thought out of her mind, _no I shouldn't think like this. This is Ino's boyfriend! _

Sasuke didn't really care much for Ino though. She had been on his case for quite some time now so he had said yes when she asked him to be her boyfriend in attempt to get her to shut up.

The handsome Uchiha raised an eyebrow when he got a glimpse of Sakura. There was something about her that made her different than other fan girls. Her face was sweet and loving, she was plainly dressed but she still looked nice in plain apparel. She had a very natural feel to her and it made Sasuke yearn to discover more about this girl.

"This is my best friend, Sakura!" Ino smiled widely.

Sasuke bowed politely and came up with a smirk, "It's an honor to meet you."

Sakura stumbled to find words to face this fine man, "Um…s-s-same to y-you."

Her voice was also sweet to his ears. Fragile and humble.

"SAKURA!" they heard a female voice call from the noisiness of the bar.

They all turned and Sakura smiled when she saw Tenten waving at her.

Sakura stuttered, "G-gomen. I should go now."

"See you later?" Sasuke asked with almost a hint of hopefulness.

A slight blush went through Sakura's cheeks, "Yeah."

Sakura ran off to the familiar chocolate colored buns on top of her friend's head. She smiled when she caught up to Tenten, the girl she considered her true best friend, no matter what Ino claimed. Tenten was dressed in a long sleek black dress with plain black flats. She wasn't wearing much jewelry, just a pair of small jade earrings. Tenten could always look beautiful without wearing anything fancy. Sakura found her sitting on a chair next to Neji, her long time boyfriend. They were holding hands. Sakura admired their relationship, they had been going out for many years now and they really did like each other. In this way, Tenten was very different than Ino with her short fake relationships.

Tenten motioned for Sakura to take the seat next to her.

The girl sat comfortably and briefly nodded to Neji, who nodded back to her instead of greeting. He was a quiet one, but nonethless handsome.

Sakura smiled at Tenten who was so similar to herself. Tenten was smart, pure, and kind. She had also never done anything naughty she might regret later in her lifespan. No, she couldn't risk anything of that sort. Everyone in school knew she had grown up with a rare type of cancer. It would not affect the health of others, but she had come ghostly pale out of the doctor's office when she was scheduled for her predicted death. She was predicted to die in exactly two months from today, but she had to stay in the hospital a month before that date for treatment that might not even affect the outcomes. Neji knew this very well and he promised to stay with her if it was possible once it was time to go to the hospital. He really was a kind man – quiet yes, but nonetheless kind.

Many said Tenten was not very attractive like Sakura, but the Haruno thought otherwise. She had seen Tenten with her hair down many times when sleeping over at her house. She never took out her buns other than to sleep, and in the morning, she would immediately tie them back up. Tenten had beautiful long thick auburn hair that came down in waves from being raveled into buns the whole day. Tenten's facial features were also not bad, and neither was her body due to the fact that she did many sports. _At least she doesn't have an oversized forehead, _thought Sakura.

The only smallest difference was that Tenten's family made average income, unlike Sakura with her below average income. Tenten's wardrobe was simple, but a bit classier than Sakura's.

There was loud music blasting all around them. Sakura looked around at the familiar couples from school she had recalled – flirting happily with one another. Sakura also noticed Shikamaru, Ino's unmistakable former boyfriend, with another blond she did not recognize from any of her classes.

The waitress, young and brash, came up to Sakura and asked her what she wanted to drink. Sakura looked at what Neji and Tenten were having. Both had small white cups of sake in front of them, both untouched. _Is Tenten really planning to drink that? She's never had any alcohol before…_thought Sakura. _She must not have known they serve strawberry lemonade here, _noted Sakura.

"One strawberry lemonade please," Sakura smiled sweetly.

The waitress gave her a funny look before scribbling something messy down on her notepad and left to give the bartender the order.

When she turned back to Neji and Tenten they were both staring at her funny.

But they both seemed to brush the thought away. Tenten asked trying to strike up conversation, "So Sakura, what did you get Ino for her birthday?"

Sakura smiled, "I got her a silver bracelet. And like every year, I was just barely able to afford it. It cost me all of the money that I saved up for half a year from work and allowance and birthday money." The girl sighed in annoyance, "And when I gave it to her…" Sakura paused for dramatic effect before raising her voice another half octave and imitating Ino's harsh joking tone, "Your presents seem to be getting smaller and smaller every year…"

Tenten smiled in a sympathetic way, "Don't let Ino get to you that easily. I know you're strong."

Sakura sighed and tried to say enthusiastically, "So what did _you _get her, Tenten?"

Tenten immediately frowned deeply, "Well, I DID get her a lavender kimono." She sighed and bent over to reach for a box under her chair. She showed Sakura the box, "but she told me to keep it!"

Sakura furrowed her brow, "Why?"

It was Tenten's turn to imitate Ino. She scrunched up her face, "Why did you buy me a present? You should've spent your money on something _you_ wanted since you're going to die in a few months anyway."

It was now Sakura's turn to smile sympathetically, "I'm sure she meant it in a caring way."

Tenten fumed, "I don't need the Yamanaka's pity."

But almost instantly her sour mood vanished when she felt Neji's arm find its way around her waist while she was sitting.

Sakura noticed the pink that filled her cheeks.

She grinned, "I can turn around if you guys…need a few moments…"

This just made Tenten blush more. "No we uh…no," she stammered.

Tenten's attention seemed to be caught by something.

She leaned over to Sakura and whispered, "Someone's checking you out."

Sakura was shocked. Who, of all people, could be _checking her out_? She was ugly and badly dressed…in her opinion anyway.

She turned her head slowly to the direction Tenten was looking in. Her mouth dropped open a bit when she saw who it was.

---

"And so she mistook my order for…" Shikamaru suddenly stopped his rambling to actually look at the guy he was speaking to. Sasuke didn't seem to be completely there.

"Sasuke…" Shikamaru called his name.

Sasuke didn't hear or react to his name

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru looked in the direction Sasuke was smirking.

Shikamaru grinned, "Thinking of cheating on Ino, huh?"

Sasuke heard this and turned to look back at Shikamaru, "It wouldn't be _cheating..._me and her are hardly even going out. I never liked her anyway."

Shikamaru grinned, "So you're hitting on the Haruno girl instead?"

"There's something about her that I haven't found in any other girl…a sort of…modesty…" Sasuke smirked in her direction as he notice her blush when she looked at him.

---

"He WAS checking you out!" Tenten squealed excitedly.

Sakura blushed, "I…guess so…"

The fast beat of the music in the large bar suddenly slowed down to the tune of rather romantic music.

Tenten, finding this to be the perfect opportunity for Sasuke to dance with Sakura, knew she and Neji had to leave before Sasuke would approach Sakura.

Tenten grabbed Neji's hand and stood up quickly, dragging him to the cleared section of the bar, "Come on Neji, let's go dance."

In an instant, Sakura was sitting alone. She felt her face heat up when she felt the eyes of a certain male linger on her. Before long she heard…

"Sakura," a deep voice that made her melt inside spoke.

Sakura looked up from her seat and found Sasuke standing right in front of her seat. She blushed again and stammered, "Oh…Sasuke-kun…where's Ino-chan?"

Sasuke pretended he had never heard of that name, "Who?"

Before Sakura could repeat that name, Sasuke took her by her arm and she was standing up next to him. She blushed uncontrollably and looked into his eyes, whispering his name softly, "Sasuke-kun…"

---

Tenten grinned as she watched Sasuke and Sakura smiling at each other – Sasuke flirting, Sakura looking down with a smile and replying timidly. They were now in the slow dance position – Sasuke's hands on her waist, her hands around his neck. Neji and Tenten were also in the same dance position as Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sakura looks so happy with Sasuke," Tenten said happily as she looked back into her own dance partner's eyes.

Neji looked at his partner. She was so fragile and pure, and when she was happy, she was as sweet as a small child grinning widely as if something wonderful had just happened to her. But this beautiful girl's life was going to end soon. Neji's face fell as he thought of this, she didn't deserve to die.

He suddenly snapped back to reality as he felt Tenten resting her forehead on his chest. She smiled and said softly, "Just the way I'm always happy when I'm with you."

He furrowed his brow, there was a hint of sadness in her voice even though her words were words of happiness. He suddenly realized she was…_crying._

"Tenten…" Neji said softly as he pulled her closer to him.

Her grip around his neck tightened as she spoke, trying to keep her voice steady as she looked at the floor.

She spoke slowly, biting back her tears, "Before I met you…I was always depressed, knowing I was just living a life waiting for death…" her voice shook a bit and she forced the corners of her mouth to turn up into a small smile, "But the day that I met you, I've been happy…there wasn't a single moment I was sad when I was with you…"

There was a pause before she looked up at him with sad eyes, "So…I don't think…" the girl bit her lip. She paused, trying to find the right words. Tenten restarted, this time her sentence was quick. She wanted to get through with it, "I don't think our relationship should continue."

She looked back down at the floor as soon as she said those words regretfully.

Neji stared at her, he didn't know what to think. It didn't make any sense at all. Did she just say something like 'You make me happy so we should break up now'?

"Tenten…" Neji said softly again. He paused before asking the big question on his mind, "Why?"

Tenten looked back at Neji's hurt eyes, "It's not that I don't like you…because I do…I really do…" her voice trailed off.

She wasn't answering his question. He couldn't find the words to explain what he was feeling or what he wanted to say to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but he lost all his thoughts when Tenten pressed her lips gently against his. And for a brief moments, they forgot all of their surroundings, it was just Neji and Tenten, Tenten and Neji. Their kiss became more passionate, their embrace tighter than before.

Tenten suddenly opened her eyes and pulled away from him. "I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't of…"

Before she finished her sentence, she completely pulled away from Neji's arms and ran through the crowd of people. She bumped into a few people, due to her carelessness, but within the next moment, she was out of his sight.

He didn't even try to chase after her. What was the point? She didn't want to be with him right now. Or so he thought anyway…

---

Sasuke and Sakura were still swaying slightly back and forth with each other in their arms.

"I've heard a a lot about you from Ino," Sasuke said putting on his irresistable smirk, looking straight into her eyes. Sakura wanted desperately to look down at the floor. His eyes had a mesmerizing effect on her, she felt like if she stared at them too long, she would melt away like a snowman under the sun. But she couldn't rip her eyes from his, they were so enticing, even if she could look away she didn't want to.

She blushed a bit. "Oh really…what did she say…" she whispered, leaning in closer to his face.

Sasuke got the catch and instantly reacted smoothly by drawing closer to her. He ran his fingers through her soft short hair a few times before leaning in and brushing the side of her cheek gently with his lips.

He breathed the words into her ear, "You're beautiful…"

The girl softly kissed the smooth dip under his chin. She knew he was now talking to her – there was no way Ino would tell her 'boyfriend' that her best friend was beautiful.

Sakura got a tingling sensation inside her stomach. She had never felt this way around anyone else in her life. No one had ever given her even the tiniest bit of pressure that was similar to this.

She shifted the position of her head and gazed into his dark eyes while he gazed into her emerald ones. They both leaned in closer, ready for the moment they were both expecting. They're lips nearly met before, out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw a girl running out the door.

Sakura immediately pulled away from Sasuke.

A bit baffled, the man gave Sakura a funny expression.

"I think that was Tenten," Sakura said urgently.

Sasuke laid his hands on her shoulders and looked sharply, but not sternly, at her. "So you're just going to leave me at a moment like this?" he said with a smirk.

Sakura took his hands in her own, "Sorry…we can do this next time…I promise!" She quickly dropped his hands and got one last look at him before heading for the exit at a brisk pace.

The Uchiha looked at the girl, who was now running out desperately trying to find her friend, her hair swinging side to side. A few moments ago, he was close enough to smell the scent of it – green apple – but now, she was gone in the night. When she had promised to do this 'next time,' he wasn't sure when that would be. He expected he would have to keep a keen eye out for her in the hallways at school the next day.

Well, her leaving wasn't the end of the world. He was in a bar surrounded by friends he could hang out with. He would make sure he found her at school the next day, so he would see her soon anyways. But that wasn't what bothered him.

What bothered him was that they were _so _close. The moment was perfect. He wanted so badly to taste those lips of hers. To feel how soft that skin was. But he missed that opportunity by a fraction of a second. But that wasn't the only thing that bothered him. The worst part of her leaving was…

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino's shrill voice rang in his ears before glomping him.

He was now alone with _Ino_.

---

Sakura knocked on the door of Tenten's house for the seventh time. Tenten's parents were out working at this hour so she was probably in her house alone. She didn't have any siblings.

"Tenten!" Sakura called loudly, "It's Sakura! Let me in!"

After a few seconds short of a minute, Tenten opened the door, eyes red and in her pajamas instead of her beautiful dress.

Her breathing was uneven, "Sorry…I thought it might've been Neji…"

She instantly regretted the words that came out of her mouth.

Sakura furrowed her brow, "So this is about Neji…did he hurt you?"

Tenten looked at the ground and motioned for Sakura to come in. The pink haired girl did so and took in the fresh scent of Tenten's comfortable home. She took in the familiar scenery around her – she was always over at Tenten's because she thought that her own house had nothing to offer for entertainment (unless you liked reading old newspapers).

They walked quickly upstairs into Tenten's bedroom. Once they reached it and went inside, Tenten closed the door quickly and sat on her bed, hugging a pillow. Sakura sat on the edge, waiting for Tenten to start explaining.

Tenten sighed, knowing explaining what had happened to her friend would be inevitable sooner or later. "I…I just broke up with Neji…"

Sakura nearly gasped, "Why?" She gave her friend a concerned look.

Tenten chewed on her bottom lip, desperately trying not to let her tears fall. But that did not succeed very well. A few tears leaked out of her eyes and she inhaled before she spoke, "I didn't want to…but…I had to…"

Still not fully understanding what Tenten meant by her words, she could only watch the girl cry softly to herself at what she had just forced out of her life. True happiness. Hyuuga Neji.

_To Be Continued… _


	2. Betrayal

_**A/N: **__Sorry it's been a while since I last updated! I've been very busy since I'm actually on vacation right now. So some days are busier than others :) Thanks to all that read chapter 1, and I hope you all like chapter 2. And for some of you who may not know, the word "nani" in Japanese means "what?" and "gomen" and "gomenasai" mean "sorry." :) Hope that clears up some confusion. So sit back and relax and enjoy chapter 2 :D_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Naruto and am making no profit from this fanfic._

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**Morning**

By nejiandtentenfan

Chapter 2: Betrayal

The faint color of yellow in Sakura's blouse was being drenched out by Tenten's continuous tears. The poor girl's face was leaning on Sakura's shoulder. She had been sobbing for what was just short of five minutes. Five minutes that had done nothing for Sakura's confusion. Tenten lifted her head and quickly swiped her index finger through both her eyes to wipe the leftover tears away.

"Gomen," she said politely, breathing still uneven, when she saw what she had done to Sakura's shirt.

Sakura smiled gently, "It's fine." Tenten nodded, eyes still lingering on the ground. She sniffled a bit, and at this moment in time, Sakura could see something in Tenten she had not seen in years. Need. Sakura couldn't remember the last time Tenten was truly in need of anything – physically or emotionally. She always seemed content with what she had and how she felt. Her mood would never get to extremes; she was a mild and soft one. But as gentle as she was, Sakura had admired her for also being full of confidence in her actions. But right now, she was in dear need of consolation – her confidence was shattered.

Without having to ask, Tenten continued to talk on her own – eyes still gazing at the floor, "Sakura…I did it because I don't want him to get too attached." Tenten started sadly. Sakura's face continued to hint a bit of confusion.

The pink haired girl's voice came out softly, "Attached?" She saw the chocolate haired girl try to restrain tears from falling again. Tenten took a breath – which trembled in the slightest way, and her gaze did not alter even in the tiniest bit.

She tried to speak calmly with a smooth voice, "I'm going to die soon Sakura. If he still loves me when I die, won't he be crushed? I don't want to interfere with his later love life, Sakura! What if he doesn't ever try to date again all because of me? I don't want him to stop living his life just because of me!" The chocolate haired girl's tone was desperate now. She bit her lip to try to keep her bottom lip from trembling, but in a few moments time, her face just shattered like glass. The tears came spilling out as she sobbed to herself, refusing to face Sakura. She knew that as soon as she met eyes with Sakura, the tears would pass onto the pink haired girl and she would also begin to weep in empathy.

After a few moments of stillness – with the exception of Tenten's sobbing – Tenten finally faced her friend and said gently, "I think I need to be alone now, Sakura…" The pink haired girl nodded and stood up and started going to the door right after giving Tenten one more apprehensive look. She now somewhat understood the reasoning behind what Tenten had done. She had done it solely out of love for the Hyuuga. She loved him so much that she would go to the extent of denying the one thing in her life that made her truly happy, just so in the long run, she felt that he would be a more contented man. Sakura actually found this to be quite self-effacing of Tenten and just enhanced her respect for her dear friend.

Just before Sakura touched the doorknob, Tenten said almost inaudibly behind her, "Arigato Sakura…for coming."

Sakura turned her head and happily beamed, "That's what friends are for, right?" The cheerful buoyancy in her friend's tone and facial composure lifted Tenten's spirits a bit.

Tenten responded with a wide crack of the mouth and allowing the corners of her mouth to reach her eyes, "Right." What an angelic sight it was to see Tenten finally smiling again. Sure, tears bedraggled her cheeks, but at least her pearly white teeth were showing in the most pleasant way, and a smile always suits a girl best. With one last look of amusement, Sakura turned around and closed the door behind her – leaving Tenten hugging her knees close to her chest, lost in thought.

----------

Sasuke smugly sneered at what the Hyuuga had just told him, "She just _left _you?" The only acknowledging counteraction Neji gave was a soft sigh as his shoulders slumped, before simply nodding. The two men were still comfortably ensconced at the bar where Neji, Tenten, and Sakura had been sitting before. They had ordered two glasses of sake – the Uchiha's almost completely consumed, the Hyuuga's untouched.

"That's pretty harsh. Funny thing, Sakura left me too…but it's not like we were going out, so she couldn't break up with me anyways," Sasuke replied with a feeble smirk, before taking another sip of his glass of sake. He recalled, what had seemed just a trice ago, the pink haired girl that had been in his arms, so close to kissing him – when she just suddenly decided she had to leave. The Hyuuga remained silently incoherent, not feeling very consoled with Sasuke's remark. There was a silent inarticulateness that blanketed over the two men, each not knowing how to start a conversation or what to say – or if they _should _say anything, for that matter. Their thoughtful cerebration seemed to be interrupted by a presence that instantly made Sasuke's gaze rise from the floor to the emerald eyes of the girl he had just been speaking about.

"Sakura," the Uchiha airily respired the name, almost not believing the girl in front of his eyes was real. He was respectfully acknowledged with a warm smile from the girl. He yearningly craved that smile and wanted to press his lips against it – like he had almost done earlier that night. He controlled his impulsive excitant as the girl politely took a seat next to Sasuke, a calm look on her face.

Sakura wore a worried smile, "Sorry to have interrupted you two."

"Not at all," Sasuke said rather gentlemanlike. Hearing the Uchiha's voice again made Sakura crack a radiant simper.

"You know…come to think of it…" the girl looked at the table in front of her upholding two cups of sake, "my strawberry lemonade hasn't come yet." Sasuke and Neji subtly commuted interesting glances.

Sasuke was the one that finally spoke up after clearing his throat, "Strawberry lemonade?" He had conclusively foreseen this as some kind of joke she was trying to break the ice with.

"Sakura, this bar is famous for only selling the strongest of alcohol," Sasuke said before awkwardly trying to smirk. His soft inflection wasn't an 'I can't believe you didn't know that' tone, but rather more of an 'I think you've been misguided' sort of tone.

His remark made Sakura blush with embarrassment before quietly acknowledging her mistake, "Oh."

Sasuke internally chuckled – and outwardly smiled at her – before unexpectedly yelling out to the waitress Sakura had ordered to earlier and thrusting up his arm so he could be seen, "Oi, can I get some service here?" The woman quickly whirled her attention at whoever had asked for service, a slightly irritated frown on her face, before pompously flouncing over to their table, nose positioned high in the air.

"Nani?" The girl asked sharply. Her aggressive facial aplomb and tone indicated she definitely regretted ever applying for a job as a waitress at the local bar.

Sasuke smirked a little seeing the waitress's irritation, "Can I get another cup of sake?" The waitress however, was scornfully mirthless at his order.

"Is this some kind of joke?" the waitress erupted in the middle of her scribbling on the small notepad in her hand. Sasuke looked scarcely appalled - was asking for a cup of sake at a bar wrong?

The waitress continued and acted as if she were going to throw the notepad on the ground, "Sir, pardon me, but you've already asked for at least _ten _cups of sake already! And now you ask me for another?" This critical animadversion only made Sasuke smirk more; this woman obviously didn't know how to wait tables at a bar. She should've been happy that he was spending more money and getting drunk at the bar she was working in. But this intuitive woman allegedly didn't have much of what was called a work ethnic.

"Don't worry – it's for my girlfriend, not me," Sasuke said – half reassuringly, and half making her feel guilty for her sudden outburst. He smoothly gesticulated with his hand at Sakura to show the waitress - if she needed any visual aid along with his words.

The waitress forced a small bow and said sharply behind gritted teeth, "Gomenasai…for my _rudeness_." The lady forcefully coerced the word "rudeness" out especially hard behind her teeth in a way that indicated she was thoroughly irritated – which only gave Sasuke more satisfaction in knowing he had won a verbal victory (like always) against another human being. The female constitutionally jaunted back to the bartender to give him the order, her pride shattered for the night by Sasuke. Once Sasuke turned his attention back to the table with a smirk, he found the same contorted countenance on both the faces of Sakura and Neji.

"Sasuke…" Sakura started off quietly, "I'm not…Ino is…I mean…" the girl found herself falteringly continue to sputter off pointlessly, unable to find the appropriate words to say. She quickly silenced when she felt Sasuke's arm around her waist softly lug her closer to his side. A pink tinge could not be stopped from entering her cheeks.

Sasuke looked directly into her eyes and breathed, "Ino is not my anything." They were at it again, their faces uncontrollably prone to each other's – lips inching forward. Neji felt terribly out of place and wasn't sure if he was supposed to be alertly contemplating their situation or not. However their lips were, like earlier, not able to applicably adjoin – for this time they were interrupted by a glass of sake practically thrown onto the table.

"Here's your blasted sake," the waitress returned and muttered some cusses under her breath. She left, clumsily inept to catch a glimpse of Sasuke's usual smirk, before he passed to sake to Sakura.

The girl smiled before blushing, "I…I don't drink alcohol, you see…I have a small tol-"

"Have you ever tried it?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"No…but-"

"Then you can't say you have a small tolerance for alcohol," a mocking grin passed Sasuke's lips as he imitated something a first grade teacher would say, "you never know until you try."

"Yes, but-" She stopped and finally gave in when she saw the look in his eyes. He had the puppy dog look fascinatingly enrapt on his face so well, it was just undeniable. She complainingly exhaled and took a small sip, which he responded to by motioning for her to take a larger dose. She bit her lip debating with herself a while before taking in a larger mouthful of the brewed rice beer and swallowing. Almost a few seconds later, she could see her world confusingly disorientating at moments. The girl really did have an extremely low tolerance for alcohol, but Sasuke seemed obliviously incognizant of it for a while. Sakura's eyelids droopily declined halfway and she swayed in the most subtle of ways. She took another long swig from her glass and finished the rest of it off in about five seconds (the waitress had inconstantly lost her imperturbability and purposely given her a smaller glass – as if that was a way to compensate for her anger.) The girl had unmistakably overtaken her low, but true limit. The Hyuuga took a fleeting gander at Sasuke who had simultaneously finished off the rest of his tall glass too. He had dissipatedly imbibed, like the waitress had said, at least ten of the same sized glasses of strong sake. As high as the strong fortitude level for the Uchiha was, Neji could accurately say that he had just hit his limit too. Now Neji felt even more out of place than ever – being the only one abstemiously ascetic. Sasuke made a small brief nauseating noise as if he were about to disgorge, but didn't seem to want to follow through with his actions at all.

The Uchiha instead grinned over at Sakura, pulling her closer, "What were we talking about again?"

"I don't remember…where are we…?" Sakura asked, slurring her words as she spoke them. She leaned in closer and the intoxicated dyad looked as if they were going to finally make a move. A vexatious wearisome feeling was starting to settle into Neji's stomach. It was now consummately inarguable that he didn't want to be sitting there witnessing what was about to happen. He knew nothing good could come out of a guy and a girl getting tipsily muddled, and furthermore, the man in this situation was going out with a different girl named Yamanaka Ino - who _always _got what she wanted.

A high pitched voice squealed from behind him, "NEJI-KUN!!!" This certain voice might have happened to favorably emancipate Neji from watching Sakura and Sasuke have a make out session, but it sure caused a whole lot more problems. He sighed and looked behind him, finding exactly who he had expectantly behooved to find.

"Suzuki-san," he acknowledged the girl's presence. She had a soaring alpine figure (coming short of Neji's height just by 2 or 3 centimeters), and was very thin – she had pearly white teeth, sky blue eyes, and raven black hair. To many, she was expressively contemplated as drop dead gorgeous, but to Neji, she was nothing special – no one could compare with Tenten in the Hyuuga's eyes. As much as he disdainfully omitted her, he was the only one in her eyes that she had feelings for – Neji was, after all, one of the most handsome men in school (right next to Sasuke.)

"Call me by my first name, Neji-kun!" the girl smiled widely, encouraging him to greet her more casually – as good friends or couples did.

Neji sighed before half-murmuring, "Inuzami-chan." The girl's grin only grew wider as she, without warning, took his arm and dragged him out to the dance floor where a slow song was playing.

"Suzuki-san…I don't really feel like dan-"

"Don't be silly! Everyone loves to dance!"

Neji tried to conjure up a random excuse, "Well, I don't really know how t-"

"I'll teach you! Just put your hands around my waist and I'll guide you!" She seemed desperate to have a dance with the Hyuuga at this rare opportunity when Tenten wasn't with him.

Neji sighed and looked seriously at her while she was happily swaying left and right while grabbing onto Neji's shoulders, "Suzuki-san…"

"Inuzami," she corrected him.

Neji sighed again, this seemed to be useless, "Inuzami-chan…you know very well that I have a girlfriend."

She continued to smile but there was a sharper edge to her voice – she hated it when he talked about Tenten in her presence, "You mean you _had _a girlfriend. I saw Tenten dump you…" she started muttering angrily to herself, "right before she laid her filthy lips on you." The Hyuuga was not consciously magnanimous that she had watched Tenten end their relationship. There was nothing he could do to tactfully elucidate the situation, so he sighed once more and gave her the pleasure of a single silent dance – no passion, no flames, just feet stepping in the right places.

----------

"…and then I asked Chouji and he was a total waste of time because he just started babbling on about sake-seared pork, and I asked Shino, but he started talking about insects, and he actually showed me his pet beetle that he brought along! So now I have no idea where Sasuke is _and _I'm disturbed with mental images beetles!" Ino whined loudly to Shikamaru. The Nara laughed internally at her flummoxed state of perplexity.

Something suddenly caught Ino's attention as she gasped loudly, "Is that my Sasuke-kun…with…Sakura?!"

_Someone finally caught on,_ thought Shikamaru, but he said nothing externally. The Yamanaka instantly repressed Shikamaru and marched over to the couple. Sasuke had by now backed Sakura into the far cavity-like niche in the darkest end of the bar. With their heads angularly bent in opposite directions, they were making out vigorously, their tongues wrestling with each other. Sasuke couldn't educe the last time he had kissed a girl with this much passion and ardor, he had only experienced cold empty kisses with many other females.

"_WHAT _do you think you're doing with _MY _boyfriend, Sakura?!" they both heard Ino shriek at the top of her lungs.

Sakura withdrew her tongue from Sasuke's mouth and looked up at the furious blonde standing in front of her, "Oi, it's Ino." Sakura crazily garbled her words together again. Ino could conspicuously perceive the red in Sakura's cheeks and she smelled the alcohol in her breath. Ino slightly marginally convulsed at the thought of Sakura getting herself drunk.

"Sakura…you…you're…_drunk_!" Ino's voice shook with surprise.

"What of it?" Sasuke asked turning his head to face Ino. The Yamanaka didn't even have to squint her eyes lined with black make up at Sasuke's irregular facial composure to know that he was also intoxicated with alcohol. Ino didn't want to ever see Sasuke again – maybe even Sakura for that matter – even though she knew that they were under the guide of a mind boggling substance. Her birthday had seemingly been depleted by the couple as she marched off furiously – not looking back even once. While she fumed off somewhere inside the large legion of classmates, Sasuke and Sakura seemed to pretend nothing had even happened, and went back to their making out. While Ino was walking briskly inside the crowd – desperately trying to get away from her supposed "boyfriend" and her supposed "best friend" – she saw something that snagged her attention – something that appeared to be an opportunity to break bad news to someone else in revenge. It was the Hyuuga – slow dancing with Suzuki Inuzami.

The Yamanaka flipped open her lavender cell phone and punched in some familiar numbers, "Hello? Tenten?" a grin passed through her lips, "You'll never believe what I just saw…"

_To Be Continued…_


	3. Only Him

_**A/N: **__Oh goodness guys…I am SO SO SO sorry about not updating in so many months! You do not know how bad I feel! I have been SO incredibly busy with work and it's been harder and harder for me to just sit down on my personal computer and spend an hour typing and revising a chapter for fanfiction. But, I really still love NejiTen and I love writing fanfictions…so I apologize if you guys have to reread this whole story to remember where I left you guys off last time, but I'll try to update better! I promise :) And again, sorry – heh, I'll understand if I lose all my previous readers, but I still love you guys :)_

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Naruto and am making no profit from this fanfic._

----------

**Morning**

By nejiandtentenfan

Chapter 3: Only Him

"Oh…he's found a new girlfriend…_already_…" Tenten's voice began to tremble with hurt again before she put on a fake cheeriness, "But I'm happy for him!"

Ino furrowed her brow as she carefully listened to the brown haired girl's words through her cell phone, "What do you mean by, _already_? You knew this was going to happen?" There was a paltry calamity in the girl's voice when she realized she had not been the one to break the bad news to Tenten.

"Yeah I…just broke up with him…" Tenten's tone was hushed. She didn't care to annotate the minutias to Ino, as she saw no point in doing such a thing.

Ino started to finally understand a fragment of what was going on, "Are you even at my party right now?" Descrying the blonde made Tenten apprehend little miss birthday girl was totally oblivious as to what the situation really was.

"No…I left a while ago…" Tenten murmured in her sadness. Hearing the affliction in the girl's articulation made even Ino decide to close her lips for a moment and apologize quietly for her disturbance.

The blonde quickly and softly said that word Tenten deserved to hear, "Gomenasai." A fabricated bantam smile broke into the chocolate haired girl's lips by habit, although she knew the Yamanaka couldn't see this action.

"It's fine," came Tenten's gentle voice, apparently void of resentment, "It was my fault I actually let our relationship start in the first place anyway." Those velvety bister eyes of hers lowered to the floor as she gave the empty explanation.

As Ino felt that it was an appropriate time to promptly end this conversation, she quickly said in an apologetic tone, "Well, gomen, I'll leave you alone now." This barometer just absconded Tenten to nod her head a bit in the still night.

"Ja ne," Tenten's voice came through the Yamanaka's phone. Ino could almost deduce that her lip was oscillating, _almost _that is, when she heard those words, 'ja ne' in the tone Tenten said them. _Ja ne_ inherently adumbrated 'see you later,' but the truth was, in the state of Tenten's health, Ino didn't know if she _would _be seeing Tenten later.

Not knowing if she should return the friendly 'ja ne,' or if she should turn to another greeting, she figured under the heat of the moment that she would stick to , "Ja…Tenten-san." The decorum of the contrivance she said Tenten's name – adding the extra 'san' – almost made Tenten jump a bit with shock. It blazoned, for once, that Ino venerated Tenten's optimism in life, and it was the least she could do to try making Tenten happier before it was her time to go.

"Arigato…Yamanaka-san…" Tenten said reverently in response before hanging up her phone. She had adjudged to denominate Ino by the name she had called her for so many years, being her classmate and all but just acquaintances, 'Yamanaka-san.' The din of her apellation had a certain ring to it that brought childhood memories, not very meaningful ones, but they always brought a smile to her face regardless.

_FLASHBACK_

_The beautiful high pitched blonde would squeal with delight as soon as the man of her dreams entered the classroom, "Sasuke-kun!" Ino had always been a flamboyant girl, and she always had high conjectures for the men she went after – meaning 'Sasuke-kun' was perfect for her, or so she thought anyway. "Sit next to me, Sasuke-kun!"_

_END OF FLASHBACK_

"Ino and her Sasuke-kun," Tenten chortled agiley as she remembered how Ino would save a seat every single morning hoping for Sasuke to sit next to her, only to have him ignore her and sit next to Shikamaru or Kiba every single day of the first year in Junior High. Ino had always had an affinity for him, but he didn't accredit that to become a mutual feeling in those early years. Mnemonics of those antecedent years in Junior High brought Tenten to a memory she had remembered so well – the beginning of her relationship with Neji. She recollected how they substantially accidently fell in love – or was it destined for them?

_FLASHBACK_

_She had remembered the day when her pink haired friend happily offered, "Tenten-chan, would you like to walk home with me?"_

"_Gomen Sakura, but I have to go straight home today, too many chores," Tenten had accorded that facile reply before saying her farewells to Sakura and walking out the door of the school. Being in an middling caprice, the brown haired student watched her black school shoes trudge along the ground as she dragged her feet, not paying much attention to her surroundings. Her apperception was predominantly occupied with thoughts of how in the world she would get all her chores completed and finish all of her schoolwork at the same time. Fortuitously insinuating her cluttered thoughts, the heel of Tenten's right school shoe slid and twisted over a smooth round rock, causing her to slip and fly backwards. Providentially for her, though, the man that happened to be locomoting behind her rushed to her aid and caught her before she could land on the lethal concrete. The girl's ankle chafed with despondency from all that pressure, but a deep flush immediately passed through her cheeks when she realized who's arms she was wrapped in._

_She stammered the man's name, "H-hyuuga-san…" she quickly attempted to break free from his support from embarassment, but soon found out she couldn't stand properly. Before percussing the loam again, the Hyuuga caught her quickly again and held her close for a brief moment that made both of them skip a few heartbeats. What was this ardor enshrouded inside of her, it wasn't like she knew Hyuuga Neji very well anyways, they were just classmates, seriously! The caustic censorship was killing her, and she was eternally grateful when it was him that decided to speak up._

"_I'll walk you home," the Hyuuga had said without even trying to look at her. Was he an ambivalent man, or was he just not the affable type? Either way, it was at that juncture that Tenten discerned the way he looked combined with his emotional composure triggered something inside of her that made her feel something completely new around this man. Without admonition, he began ambling in the direction of her house slowly and silently, her arm around his shoulder for support. The whole excursion was garbo, and somewhat awkward, for the both of them, but they atually didn't really mind being in each others' presences._

_After the ten minutes it took to get to Tenten's house passed and he made sure she leaned against a pole on her front porch before he left, she said shyly and quietly, "Arigato, Hyuuga-san." She would have genuflected amiably if her hip didn't feel so strange from that fall, but Neji didn't seem to mind. He decamped and loitered to his house, which was in the same direction, without leaving her much - aside from a simple nod of acknowledgement. And once the man dematerialized and was out of her afterimage, Tenten let out a loud sigh she had unconsciously been holding in. What was this cultivation she got when he was approximal? Whatever that sentiment may have been, all she cognized was that she liked it._

_----------_

"_I'll…walk you home," were the words that had been spoken awkwardly by either Neji or Tenten each day after school, and pretty soon it had been an implicit acceding that they would accompany each other home everyday after school. The first few weeks were pretty silent, but after a few days, they imperceptibly grew more commodious making small talk with each other – then eventually, they let each other in and shared more about their personal lives. It was then that she contrived the Hyuuga had experienced a bereft childhood – his parents had died, and he now lived with his uncle and cousins. Surprisingly, it had only been about a week and a half when it eventuated – the day when everything manifestly started for them._

_----------_

_They had been walking routinely like every other day – now feeling more comfortable in each other's presences – and Tenten was going on and on about the lesson in a rather cheerful manner, "It was very amusing when Naruto-san kept interupting Iruka Sensei today. He's really a mischievous one." The blithesome chocolate haired bookbuster would have continued talking endlessly, like she had started doing recently, but something about the man next to her didn't feel right. Instead of giving her his chronic grunt to cinch he was listening from time to time, he was being unusually silent. The girl worriedly looked at the Hyuuga, who's semblance – usually asseverated that he was paying attention – now showed that he was deep in thought somewhere else. He furrowed his brow and stared at the ground as he footslogged his feet – giving his whole carnal composure a very troubled impression._

"_N-neji…is something wrong…?" Tenten asked quietly, calling him by his first name because they had become so much closer to each other over the weeks._

_There was a long silence before Neji, without looking up, said passively, "It's been exactly five years since my father has died." There was silence the rest of the way to Tenten's house, which was only a few more yards, and when it was time for him to routinely abdicate, the girl did something impetuous. She bordered him and encased her arms around him before pressing her lips against his. Just by counterpoise, his arms gently set themselves around her waist and pulled her a bit closer. Their kiss augmented more lascivious, but never to the point of uncomfort. After breaking apart marginally, unanimously out of breath, they continued to walk more slowly to her house - Tenten's arms wrapping gently around Neji's, her head leaning on his shoulder. And that duskiness was the night when their matinee from the Hyuuga's perspective went to a whole new level, and Neji silently concluded that this girl had a certain empathy he could see in no other girl these days. Although he had already scrutinized this for disparate days now, he had to re-establish the fact in his mind that this girl needed protection – carrying the fact that she could easily be pushed around._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

It wasn't until later that Tenten envisioned how agonized her spinal chord was due to her level of deep thought. She endeavored to stretch out her back, only to actualize how badly she needed to get out of her room and walk around. The decrepit student briskly slipped out of her warm pajamas and put on pure comfort clothes – a grey sweatshirt, a pair of denim jeans, and once she got to the front door of her house, a pair of white tennis shoes. The girl had adjudged earlier to unravel the signature buns ontop of her head since there was no earmarked occasion for her anymore anyways, and she was now debating whether or not she would put them back up – for she was very conscientious about going out in public with her hair down – she felt it's waviness looked very unruly compared to Sakura or Ino or Hinata's glorious straight silky hair.

"This will only take five minutes…everyone's at Ino's party…no one will see me…" Tenten quietly whispered to herself, which made her sure that her decision to leave her hair down wouldn't end up hurting her in any way.

The girl agilely walked out of her door and discharged a few quick breaths in an attempt to ignore the unbearable coldness of the night. While ejecting tepid breaths into the palms of her hands, the small girl started walking in no specific direction, deep in thought, and eyes looking down in insignificance the whole time.

She didn't venture to enunciate what she was thinking inside of her mind, but the burning pain made her want to have an early funeral. _Does Neji honestly not like me anymore…has he ever liked me…or was he just another guy that takes girls as they come?_ Catechisms of the Hyuuga's adherence to Tenten was all that the girl's confused mind was absorbed in – so much that she didn't happen to notice the rather large stone the heel of her shoe was about to get caught in.

Due to lack of conscientiousness, her leg implemented a cumbersome motion once it slipped over the rock – but just like the last time this happened, she was saved by a man who caught her in his arms when she fell backwards. She bridled her breath for a few junctures. This warmth, this alleviation, this gentleness…there was no agnosticism in her mind that this could only be _his_ work. Only _his_ concrete duress she was in.

Not turning back, she whispered mainly to herself, "_Neji._"

_To Be Continued…_


End file.
